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According to the US Attorney’s Office, Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli have pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in the college admissions scandal. The Fuller House actress and her designer husband both will serve prison time as part of the deal. The couple was expected to go to trial in October on charges that they paid $500,000 to get their daughters Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose into the University of Southern California under the false pretense that they were crew recruits. They have denied that they paid bribes and thought they were making legitimate donations.
For her part of the deal, the 55-year-old star has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. In accordance with the agreement, Lori will serve two months in prison, pay a $150,000 fine and be on supervised release for two years with 100 hours of community service. Her husband will also plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud. He will serve five months in prison, pay a $250,000 fine and be on supervised release for two years with 250 hours of community service.
In a statement released by US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling, it reads: “Under the plea agreements filed today, these defendants will serve prison terms reflecting their respective roles in a conspiracy to corrupt the college admissions process and which are consistent with prior sentences in this case. We will continue to pursue accountability for undermining the integrity of college admissions.“
The Fuller House star was arrested in March 2019. For the last 14 months, Lori and Mossimo have maintained that they were misled by William “Rick” singer, the consultant who is at the heart of the scandal. According to an affidavit filed in court, the actress and designer began conspiring with Rick in April 2016. The couple funneled payments through Rick’s charity, whose mission was to “help underprivileged students.”
In 2019, Felicity Huffman was the first of the over 30 parents who were involved in the high-profile scandal. The Desperate Housewives star served 11 days of a two week prison sentence, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud for paying $15,000 as a result to have her daughter’s SAT’ scores doctored.